The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and should not be construed as constituting prior art.
Many portions of the human anatomy naturally articulate relative to one another. Generally, the articulation of these anatomic regions is smooth and non-abrasive in nature, particularly in the presence of natural tissues, such as cartilage and strong bone. Over time, however, due to injury, stress, degenerative health problems and various other issues, the ease by which these anatomic regions are able to articulate degenerates in quality, thereby leaving the articulation of these anatomic regions abrasive and unnatural. For example, injury may cause the cartilage or the bony structure to become weak, damaged, or even non-existent. As a result, the natural articulation of these anatomical regions is no longer possible for these affected individuals. At such times, it may be desirable to replace the affected anatomical regions with a prosthetic component or other such biomedical implant device so that normal articulation may be restored.
To replace the affected anatomical region with a prosthetic component or implant device, it may be necessary to cut or remove portions of bone and associated tissue matter with a reaming device (reamer). For instance, in accordance with certain orthopedic procedures, a reamer may be used to cut and bore into the intramedullary space (inner canal) of a long bone such as the femur, tibia or humerus, particularly to clean and create a space for the implant to be received and/or to help mend a fractured bone.
Before the reaming process commences, a wire is typically inserted into the space to serve as a guide for receiving the reamer as it is inserted into the intramedullary space. In some cases, multiple reamers of varying widths are used during the reaming process so that the intramedullary space can be appropriately shaped to sufficiently correspond to the geometry of the implant component being installed. Although conventional reaming systems are somewhat adequate for their intended purposes, these systems can be improved. For instance, when the reaming process requires multiple reamers to be used, conventional systems require that each reamer be extracted from the intramedullary space and slid off the guide wire before the next reamer can be advanced over the guide wire and into the intramedullary space. This process can be time consuming and inconvenient, especially if several reamer interchanges are required.
Many conventional orthopedic reamers are constructed of two parts, a one-piece reamer cutting head and a reamer shaft that connects to the cutting head assembly. The one-piece reamer cutting head is formed from a single block of metal and is machined to include a series of blades or flutes that are designed to remove the bone and tissue as part of the reaming process. As many of these cutting heads are used multiple times before being discarded, the blades require frequent and costly resharpening and sterilization processes. As such, there is a need to provide an improved reamer assembly that addresses one or more of these known deficiencies within the art.